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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



FOSTER ON HEARTS 



A Description of the Game, with 
Suggestions for Good Play 
and a Code of Laws 




AUTHOR OF "FOSTER'S WHIST TACTICS," 11 FOSTER'S WHIST 
MANUAL," 11 FOSTER'S DUPLICATE WHIST," " FOSTER'S 
AMERICAN LEADS," " WHIST AT A GLANCE," il FOS- 
TER'S POCKET GUIDE," AND THE INVENTOR 
OF THE u SELF-PLAYING WHIST CARDS " 



1ftew fork anfc XonDon 
FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY 




f 



PUBLISHERS 





Cop^dgbt, 1895, 
ifre&encfe B» Stofces Company 



^4// rights reserved. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 



Description of the Game, i 

Theory of Hearts, 4 

Sweepstake Hearts, 6 

Suggestions for Good Play, .... 8 

Leading Hearts Originally, 10 

Leading Plain Suits Originally, ... 14 

Plain-suit Leads, 18 

Following Suit, 23 

Control of the Lead, 27 

The Discard, 31 

Howell's Settling, 33 

Table for Howell's Settling, .... 36 

Three-Handed Hearts, 39 

Single-Handed Hearts, 41 

Auction Hearts, 47 

Spot Hearts, 52 

Drive Hearts, 54 

Progressive Hearts, 57 

Joker Hearts, ........ 60 

Laws of Hearts, . 62 

Example Hands, . 69 

vii 



PREFACE. 



The constantly increasing popularity of the 
game of Hearts has led the author to believe 
that a brief description of its various forms, 
with suggestions for good play, would be 
acceptable not only to those who desire to 
learn the game, but to those already familiar 
with it. 

The author confesses his inability to obtain 
any authentic information as to the origin of 
Hearts, and would be greatly obliged for any 
facts in that connection which can be properly 
substantiated. 

An attempt has been made to formulate 
a code of laws, which is not given as authorita- 
tive nor final ; but is submitted for the con- 
sideration and criticism of Heart players 
generally. 

R. F. Foster. 



iii 



INTRODUCTION. 



HEARTS may be described as the happy 
medium of card games. It is not so intricate 
as Solo, nor so simple as Cinch, not so deep as 
Scat, nor so shallow as Cassino. It has not 
quite such close friendships as Whist, nor such 
deadly enmities as Poker. It is not so long- 
winded as Bezique, nor so quick as Boston. 
It does not require so much intelligence as 
Piquet, nor so little as Old Maid. Betting is 
not so essential as at Vingt-et-un, nor so un- 
necessary as at Authors ; and while it is not 
so lively a game as Three-Card Monte, neither 
is it so deadly as Baccarat. 

Hearts has many good points, some of 
which must recommend it to every good 
card-player. It is easily learned and easily 
played. A game can be commenced with two 
persons or with six, and it is finished any time 
the players have had enough of it. While 
each is supposed to play for himself against 



Vi 



INTRODUCTION. 



all the others, little friendships creep in occa- 
sionally, especially when two players, who have 
been " loaded/' silently and lovingly help each 
other to " load " the other two, in order to make 
it a "Jack." It is a pleasant relief from the 
incessant wrangling of modern Whist, and 
affords excitement enough for the moderate 
gambler, who would be out of his depth in 
Boston. The mental employment and amuse- 
ment it affords is sufficient for the most intelli- 
gent, and not too much for the most simple- 
minded card-player. Not the least of its 
attractions is its adaptability to the fair sex. 

In Hearts the elements of luck and skill are 
so nicely balanced that no man can call him- 
self a sure winner, nor dare he pick anyone 
for a certain loser ; for there is probably no 
game of cards in which players of all grades 
meet upon so equal a footing as in Hearts. 



FOSTER ON HEARTS. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE GAME. 

HEARTS is played with a full pack of fifty- 
two cards, which rank as at Whist, Ace being 
highest, then KQJio 9876543 2. In 
cutting, Ace is low. It is usual to play with 
two packs, one being shuffled while the other 
is dealt. There is no trump suit. 

From two to six persons can play, but four 
is the most usual number, each playing for 
himself against all the others. The method 
of settling should be agreed upon before play 
begins. 

When three persons play, the deuce of 
Spades is thrown out of the pack ; when five 
play, both the black deuces are laid aside ; 
and when six play, all four deuces are dis- 
carded. 

The deal is determined by drawing cards 
from an outspread pack. The player drawing 



2 



FOSTER ON HEARTS. 



the lowest card deals, and has the choice of 
seats and cards. Players cutting cards of equal 
value, if they are the lowest, must cut again. 

The cards, after being cut, are dealt to the 
players one at a time until each has thirteen, 
or the pack is exhausted. No trump card is 
turned, and should a card be faced in the pack 
or a misdeal occur, the dealer must deal again. 

The cards dealt, the player to the left 
of the dealer begins by leading any card he 
pleases, to which the others must follow suit 
if they can, and the highest card played, of the 
suit led, wins the trick. The object of each 
player is to avoid getting any Hearts in the 
tricks he takes. If he has none of the 
suit led he can either discard a Heart, or get 
rid of any other card he pleases. The penalty 
for a revoke is very severe [see Laws]. The 
winner of the trick takes it in, and leads for 
the next one, and so on until all the cards 
have been played. 

After all the tricks have been played, each 
player counts the number of Hearts he has 
taken in, and announces it. Players should 
be careful not to gather the cards until all 
the thirteen Hearts have been accounted for. 
Each player then pays for the Hearts he has 



DESCRIPTION OF THE GAME. 3 



taken in, according to the system of settling 
agreed upon before the play began. The deal 
then passes to the left, and another hand is 
played and settled for. The game is at an 
end any time the players wish to stop, after 
a hand has been settled for. 

There are several methods of settling at 
Hearts, each of which can best be described 
in connection with the variety of the game to 
which it belongs. 



THEORY OF HEARTS. 



One of the chief elements of success in any 
game is that the player should have a clear 
understanding of the end in view. Many card- 
players mistake the means for the end. In 
Poker the end in view is the money on the 
table. The player's object is not, as many 
persons imagine, to hold the best hands, nor 
to make the best draws, but simply and only 
to win the most pots, and to coax the adver- 
saries to lose as much money as possible on 
their hands. This may sometimes be done 
by strong betting on weak hands, or by weak 
betting on strong hands. In Whist, the end 
in view is tricks ; not, as many imagine, the 
counting of the hands, nor the placing of the 
cards, but a combination of the resources of 
long and short suits, of finesse and tenace, of 
candor and deception, continually adjusted to 
varying circumstances so as to result in the 
adversaries' losing tricks. In Cribbage, the 
object is to peg ; sometimes by the count in 



THEORY OF HEARTS. 



5 



the hand, sometimes in the crib, sometimes 
in the play. The man who tries to spoil his 
adversary's crib when he has only five to go 
will never be a cribbage-player. 

So in Hearts ; the player must keep con- 
stantly before him the end in view, and must 
vary his game in accordance with it. In some 
varieties of the game the object is to take no 
Hearts ; in others it is to take less than four ; 
in others it is to take less than your adver- 
saries. Again, it may become the object to 
see that all the others take Hearts ; or that a 
given player takes at least one ; or that no one 
but yourself takes any. 

It must be obvious that in order to attain to 
these various objects, different styles of play 
must be adopted, and that the player must 
have a clear conception of the particular object 
in view in order to play intelligently. 

In order to simplify this, I propose to take 
up each variety of the game in turn, pointing 
out its peculiarities, and the tactics best adapted 
to its varying circumstances. 

Let us begin with the most common form of 
game. 



SWEEPSTAKE HEARTS. 



This is usually played by four persons, 
although three, five, or six may play if the 
proper number of cards are thrown out of the 
pack. The chief peculiarity is in the method 
of settling. 

Each player, on entering the game, pur- 
chases a certain number of chips or counters, 
usually fifty, which have an agreed value. 
After each hand has been played, each player 
counts and announces the number of Hearts 
he has taken in, and pays into the pool one 
chip for each. All thirteen Hearts having 
been paid for, any player having taken no 
Hearts takes the entire pool; two having 
taken none, divide it. If all the players have 
taken Hearts, or if one player has taken thir- 
teen, the pool remains, and forms a " Jack," 
which can be won only by a single player 
having taken no Hearts, all the others having 
taken at least one. This pool is of course in- 
creased thirteen chips each deal until it is won. 

6 



SWEEPSTAKE HEARTS. 



7 



Some players make it a Jack after two players 
have divided a pool, using the odd chip as a 
starter. It will be found that natural Jacks 
occur quite frequently enough without this 
expedient. 

We shall at present confine our attention to 
the four-handed game. 



SUGGESTIONS FOR GOOD PLAY. 



The best players, after sorting their hand, 
carefully estimate its possibilities. In Sweep- 
stake Hearts the object is to take no Hearts; 
for if a player takes even one or two he cannot 
possibly win anything, although he may keep 
down his losses. 

The hand may be such that it is evidently 
impossible to avoid taking some Hearts. The 
player must then decide whether he will play 
to give each of the others Hearts, or will take 
them all himself. If he succeeds in either 
object he has a chance to win back his money 
in the ensuing Jack. It is much cheaper for 
him to give all the others Hearts, but it is 
much more difficult to do so than it is to take 
them all himself ; for in the first case he has 
three players opposed to his plan, while in the 
second he has usually three willing helpers, 
who have as good a chance for the prospective 
* Jack as he has, without paying anything for it. 

A player who has determined to take all the 

8 



SUGGESTIONS FOR GOOD PLAY. 9 



Hearts should not let his scheme be too ap- 
parent, unless he is very sure of success ; for it 
sometimes happens that another player may 
feel equally confident of his ability to divide 
the Hearts among the others, and so secure the 
pool himself, or at least divide it, if it is not 
already a Jack. For an excellent illustration 
of such a play, see Example Hand No. 4. 

In deciding on his chances to get clear with- 
out taking a single Heart, the player must be 
guided by the calculations of probabilities. 
These may be affected by his position at the 
table ; the player with the lead usually having 
an advantage. 

If a player has the original lead, he must 
first consider the advisabilty of beginning with 
a Heart, or with a plain suit. If Hearts, he 
should know the probability of the Heart he 
leads not winning the trick; if a plain suit, he 
should know the probability of the suit going 
round one or more times without Hearts being 
discarded on it, especially if he intends to lead 
high cards. These chances must then be 
balanced one against the other, and the most 
favorable selected. 



LEADING HEARTS ORIGINALLY. 



When your Hearts are so small as to be 
absolutely safe, such as the 7 5 3 2, it might be 
supposed that the best play would be to lead 
them at once, in order to get a large number 
of Hearts out of your way. But with such 
cards it is usually much better play, unless you 
have a very dangerous hand in plain suits, to 
reserve these small Hearts until you have a 
more definite idea, from the fall of the cards, 
to whom you are giving them. Such cards 
are also particularly useful at dangerous stages 
in the end-game forgetting rid of the lead. If 
the student will examine Example Hand No. 
io, he will see that if the player with the small 
safe Hearts had led them originally he would 
have lost the pool. 

When the plain-suit cards are high or dan- 
gerous, but the Hearts are reasonably safe, 
it is usually better to lead the Hearts, and to 
continue leading them every time you get in. 
By following these tactics it is quite possible 



LEADING HEARTS ORIGINALLY. II 

for you to take almost every trick in the plain 
suits, and yet to win the pool by rapidly ex- 
hausting the Hearts. For an illustration of 
this, see A's hand in Example No. 5. 

But now let us suppose that your smallest 
Heart is the 4, and that you have the original 
lead. In Sweepstake Hearts the object is to 
take NONE, and in leading any Heart higher 
than the deuce, you run a certain risk of losing 
the pool. Infinitesimal it may be, but still a 
risk, and one that should be avoided if possible, 
or a smaller risk selected if there is any choice. 

If you lead the 4, the only chance for 
it to win is that one player has no Hearts, 
and that the 2 and 3 are divided. The odds 
against this combination of circumstances will 
vary with the number of Hearts you hold with 
the 4, but may be generally stated on the 
average as about 50 to 1. It is usually con- 
sidered a safer lead than a high card of a plain 
suit, even if you have only three of the suit. 

If your only Heart is the 5, and you pro- 
pose to lead it, the chances that the 2, 3, and 
4 are not each in separate hands are about 19 
in 25, or 19 to 6 against it, which is about 3 to 
1. If you lead the 5, the odds against your 
winning the trick decrease as the number of 



12 



FOSTER ON HEARTS. 



Hearts you hold with the 5 increases. If you 
have four Hearts, the 5 being the lowest, the 
odds against its winning the trick, if you lead 
it, are about 29 to 1 1 . If you have eight Hearts, 
the 5 being the lowest, it is about an even 
chance. 

If your only Heart is the 6, it is about an 
even chance that it will not win the trick ; but 
the odds against you increase rapidly with 
the number of additional Hearts that you 
hold. 

If you propose to lead the 7, the chances 
that it will win the trick are 2 to 1 under the 
most favorable circumstances, which are when 
it is your only Heart. These odds against 
you increase rapidly with the number of addi- 
tional Hearts that you hold. 

It must be taken into consideration that in 
some cases players, who could pass, put on a 
high Heart when they have only one small 
one with it. This possibility will slightly re- 
duce all the foregoing odds. 

As I consider the knowledge of probabilities 
a very important factor in playing Hearts, I 
have gone over these calculations very care- 
fully myself, and have submitted them to Mr. 
E. C Howell, the well-known authority on 



LEADING HEARTS ORIGINALLY. 1 3 



card probabilities in connection with Whist. 
The results we arrive at are practically the 
same, although obtained by different processes. 

Let us now turn our attention to cases 
in which it is not advisable to begin with a 
Heart. 



LEADING PLAIN SUITS ORIGINALLY. 



If a general consideration of your hand leads 
you to believe that it would not be advis- 
able to begin by leading a Heart, you may 
turn your attention to the probabilities of 
getting Hearts discarded to you when you 
lead high cards of plain suits. It will often 
happen that you will have to decide between 
the lead of a comparatively dangerous Heart 
and a risky plain suit. Your knowledge of 
probabilities should enable you to select the 
safer course. 

The odds against getting a Heart on the 
first round of a plain suit depend upon how 
many cards of the suit you hold. 

If you lead an Ace, or any card which is 
sure to win the trick, the odds against your 
getting a Heart on it are as the following: — 

If you have 4 cards of the suit, 22 to I. 

5 " 15 to 1. 

6 " 7 to 1. 
" 7 " 4 to 1. 

8 2 to 1. 

14 



LEADING PLAIN SUITS ORIGINALLY. 1 5 



These odds may be slightly increased by 
taking into account the fact that players who 
cannot follow suit do not always discard 
Hearts, having perhaps other and more dan- 
gerous cards to get rid of. 

The odds against a suit going round a sec- 
ond time may be influenced by the cards 
played to the first round ; but it sometimes 
happens that you have to calculate in advance 
for two rounds of a suit, regardless of the 
cards that may be played by others. This is 
especially the case when you fear that the suit 
will be led to you, and you have such cards as 
must win two rounds. 

It may be taken as a fair inference that 
when a player drops a deuce he has no more 
of the suit. 

If you have 4 cards of the suit the odds 
against your getting a Heart in two rounds 
are 2 to 1. 

The odds in favor of your getting a Heart 
in two rounds are : 

If you have 5 cards of the suit, 4 to 3. 
" 6 " 2 to 1. 

" 7 " 6 to 1. 

As an example of the value of a thorough 
knowledge of these odds to a careful player, 



i6 



FOSTER ON HEARTS. 



suppose he had to win two rounds of a plain 
suit, of which he held 6 cards ; or to lead the 
7, having three higher. The suit would be 
the better play, because it takes in only one 
Heart, while the lead of the Heart might take 
in four. 

The foregoing odds are reduced to the sim- 
plest approximate fraction for the sake of 
clearness. For the benefit of those who pre- 
fer a greater accuracy of statement the follow- 
ing table is given, which shows the exact num- 
ber of times in iooo deals that a Heart would 
probably be discarded on a plain suit led, ac- 
cording to the number of cards in the suit held 
by the leader, and the number of times the 
suit was led : 

No. of cards held by 

the leader 1,2,3,4 5 7 8 

Times Hearts will 

be discarded : 

On first round. , . . . . 44 63 122 200 315 

On second round 358 430 659 857 iooo 

On third round 842 iooo iooo iooo iooo 

This shows that 158 times in iooo, when the 
leader has 1, 2, 3, or 4 cards of the suit, it will 
go round three times, because 158 is the bal- 
ance necessary to bring our last figure, 842, up 



LEADING PLAIN SUITS ORIGINALLY. 1 7 

to 1000. Reducing this to a small fraction, 
the odds are about $}i to 1 that a suit will not 
go round three times without affording to 
some player the chance of discarding Hearts on 
it. This calculation is useful as showing the 
hopeless nature of all hands that contain at 
least three cards of each suit, unless the small- 
est card in every suit is below a 6 ; for if any 
one of the suits is led three times, it is even 
betting that you will have to win the third 
round, and 5^ to 1 that you get a Heart on it 
if you do. 

We may now turn our attention to the man- 
agement of plain suits in general. 



PLAIN=STJIT LEADS. 

The favorite lead with most Heart players 
is a singleton ; or, failing that, a two-card suit. 
This is, I think, a mistake, unless the singleton 
is a high card ; for if the adversaries are sharp 
players they will at once suspect the nature of 
the lead, and carefully avoid the suit. But if 
you wait until some other player opens the suit, 
it will very probably be led twice in succession. 
I have found the best original plain-suit lead 
to be one in which you are moderately long, 
but have small cards enough to be safe, and 
from which you can lead intermediate cards 
which probably will not win the first trick. 

A very little experience at Hearts wilF con- 
vince anyone that it is best, in plain suits, to 
play out the high cards first. This agrees 
with the theory of probabilities ; for while the 
odds are 22 to 1 against your getting a Heart 
on the first round of a plain suit of which you 
have 4 cards, the odds are only 2 to 1 against 
it on the second round, and on the third they 
18 



PLAIN-SUIT LEADS. 



19 



are 5^ to 1 in favor of it. Accordingly, on 
the first round most players put up their high- 
est card of the suit led, no matter what their 
position with regard to the leader ; but in so 
doing, I think they often run needless risks. 
The object in Sweepstake Hearts is to take 
NONE, and the most successful players will 
be found to be those who consistently play 
with the greatest odds in their favor for taking 
none. Let us take an example : 

Suppose that you hold such a suit as A 10 9 
742. This is a safe suit ; because it is very 
improbable that you can be compelled to take 
a trick in it. The best lead from such a suit 
is, in my opinion, the 10 or 9. If the suit is 
led by any other player, the same card should 
be played, unless you are 4th hand, and have 
no objection to the lead. This avoids the 
risk, however slight, of getting a Heart on 
the first round, which would be entailed by 
playing the Ace. In Sweepstake Hearts it is a 
great mistake to play the high cards of a suit 
in which you are safe ; for no matter how 
small the risk, it is an unnecessary one. In the 
case we are considering, when you have six 
cards of the suit, the odds are 7 to 1 against 
your getting a Heart if you play the Ace first 



20 



FOSTER ON HEARTS. 



round. That is to say, you will probably lose 
one pool out of every eight if you play it. 
Take the greatest odds in your favor, when 
you have only four cards of a suit ; they are 22 
to 1 against your getting a Heart the first 
round, so that you would lose by it only once 
in 23 times. But this is a tremendous percent- 
age against you if you are playing with those 
who do not run such risks, for you give up 
every chance you might otherwise have in 5 
pools out of every no. 

Several good examples of this conservative 
manner of leading intermediate cards from safe 
suits will be found in the illustrative hands, 
especially Nos. 1, 2, 3, n. 

Where you have a dangerous hand in Hearts, 
but one absolutely safe long suit, it is often 
good play to begin with your safe suit, retain- 
ing any high cards you may have in other suits 
in order to get the lead as often as possible for 
the purpose of continuing your safe suit, which 
will usually result in one or more of the other 
players getting loaded. For an example of 
this play, see A's hand in No. 6. Unfortu- 
nately, his cards were not high enough, and he 
was also outplayed at his own game by B. 

When you have at least three of each plain 



4 

PLAIN-SUIT LEADS. 



21 



suit it is obvious that you cannot hope for any 
discards, and that you must take into account 
the probability of having to win the third 
round of one or more suits, with the accom- 
panying possibility of getting Hearts at the 
same time. If you have the lead, this proba- 
bility must be taken into account before any 
of the other players show their hands, and as 
it may be set down as about 5^ to I that you 
will get a Heart, any better chance that the 
hand affords should be taken advantage of. 
For an example, see A's hand in No. 9. He 
knows it is a better chance to risk getting four 
Hearts by leading the 5, than to risk getting 
one by winning the third round of Diamonds 
or Clubs ; in neither of which he is safe. He 
is unfortunately opposed to two very fine 
players, who succeed in loading him. 

It will often occur that a player's attention 
must be so concentrated on getting clear him- 
self that he has no opportunity to scheme for 
" loading " the others. But if it unfortunately 
happens that he is compelled to take in one or 
more Hearts, he should at once turn his atten- 
tion to taking them all, or to loading the 
others, with a view to making a Jack of the 
pool. Should he succeed in either object he 



22 



FOSTER ON HEARTS. 



has another chance for his money. For ex- 
amples of this change of policy, see Y's hand 
in No. 7, and Z's in No. 8. 

An example of a player making up his mind 
to take all thirteen Hearts is given in No. 4. 

For an example of a player knowing that he 
must take some Hearts, and trying to give 
some to each of the others, see No. 7. 

It is usually bad policy to return the suit 
opened by the original leader. He has picked 
that out as his safest suit, and although he may 
be the only one safe in it, by continuing it you 
are reducing your chances to two players, 
when you might share them with all three. 

Some persons have a habit of playing false 
cards in plain suits, in the hope that others 
will thereby be prevented from leading those 
suits again. This is a very dangerous experi- 
ment, for the player that is safe in a suit will 
inevitably lead it in the end game, not caring 
who holds the higher cards which he knows to 
be still out. Then, at a time when all his 
cards are known, the crafty player finds him- 
self with the lead, and perhaps no chance of 
getting rid of it again. 



FOLLOWING SUIT. 



When a player is not the original leader, his 
policy becomes defensive ; for, as the first 
player is plotting to give Hearts to everyone 
but himself, each of the others must be a pros- 
pective victim, and should do his best to avoid 
the traps prepared by the one who plans the 
opening of the hand. 

When you are second or third player, the 
first time a suit is led, it is usually best to play 
your highest card, unless you are safe in the 
suit, or have so many that there is danger of 
getting a Heart, even on the first round. As 
fourth player, you should always play your 
highest card, unless there is already a Heart in 
the trick, or some decided disadvantage in the 
lead. The risks you run in playing high cards 
while following suit must be judged by the 
same probabilities that we examined in con- 
sidering the original lead. The fact that one 
or more players have already followed suit, and 
perhaps the cards they have played, may 
23 



24 



FOSTER ON HEARTS. 



enable you to arrive at a still closer estimate of 
your chances. On page 18 attention was called 
to the increasing danger incurred by holding 
up high cards of suits in which the player is 
not safe. It is generally conceded that the 
odds against a player who holds up on the 
first round are about I to II. That is to say, 
in 12 pools, he will sacrifice his chances of one 
simply by holding up. 

After one or two tricks have been played, 
the conditions may be such that it becomes 
necessary to hold up, in order to win the sec- 
ond round. This is especially the case after 
you have been loaded, and are anxious to keep 
a certain player out of the lead. An example 
of this will be found in No. 12, where Y holds 
up the (} King to keep A from getting in and 
leading another round of Hearts. In the 
same hand Z tries hard to make the pool a 
Jack by holding up the d|» Q. Had not A 
been entirely safe in Diamonds the stratagem 
would have succeeded. 

In following suit it is important to keep 
count of the cards played, in order to avoid 
the unwitting lead of a suit of which the other 
players have none. I have found it unneces- 
sary to pay any further attention to suits in 



FOLLOWING SUIT. 



25 



which you are safe, than to keep count of the 
number of cards played. The suits that need 
close watching are those in which you have 
nothing smaller than a Six or Eight. You 
should be careful to note which player appears 
to have the smaller cards, after the suit has been 
led once or twice, and be on the watch to take 
the lead away from him in other suits if you can, 
or he may load you by leading the small cards 
of your dangerous suit, in which he is safe. 
When this danger is apparent, it. is best to 
retain, until the second round, such high cards 
as Kings and Queens of the suits led. Even 
if you have four of the suit, you run only a 2 
to 1 risk in winning the second round instead 
of the first, as against a certainty that you will 
be out of the pool at once if the dangerous 
player gets the lead. For an example of this, 
see B's hand in No. 6. 

Where you have a certain safe card, and 
others of another suit not absolutely safe, it is 
better to keep the safe card, in order to be sure 
of getting rid of the lead if you are put in on 
your dangerous suit. See A's hand in No. 9, 
at the 9th trick. The risk must of course be 
run that the player holding the higher cards of 
your safe suit will discard if he can, and leave 



26 



FOSTER ON HEARTS. 



you with a dead hand. For an example of 
this, see B's discard in No. n. 

In following suit, the most annoying hand 
that one can hold, is one containing at least 
three cards of each suit, none of them below a 
6. There is no hope of a discard, unless two 
players make a fight in some one suit, which 
they lead four or five times in order to load 
each other, regardless of the escape of the other 
players. This very seldom occurs, and never 
among good players. With such a hand escape 
is almost impossible, and it is usually best to 
make the losses as small as possible. Many 
good players, with such a hand, will deliberately 
take in Hearts on the plain suits, hoping to 
escape with only one or two in each trick, 
instead of having to carry the whole load by 
getting into the lead at the end. It should 
never be forgotten that when you must in- 
evitably take some Hearts, it is cheaper to 
take them in on plain suits than to win Heart 
tricks. An illustration of this will be found 
in Z's hand, Example No. I. 



CONTROL OF THE LEAD. 



One of the strongest points in good Heart 
play is the proper control of the lead at certain 
times. In the single-handed game this is too 
obvious to need pointing out, but many players 
entirely overlook its importance in Sweepstake 
Hearts. It may appear paradoxical, in a game 
in which the chief object is not to take any- 
thing, that one of the fine points should be 
taking tricks. 

A player whose hand contains no command- 
ing cards, and who is unable to do anything 
but follow suit on the first two or three rounds, 
will often find himself compelled to win one of 
the later rounds with a small card, taking in 
one or two Hearts with it ; and this misfortune 
usually overtakes him because a certain player 
gets into the lead at a critical period of the 
hand. 

Now, it is very often evident to an observant 
player that this will occur; but if he has no 
commanding cards, of course he is powerless to 
27 



28 



FOSTER ON HEARTS. 



prevent it. On the other hand, if he sees the 
impending danger, and has K Q or J of a suit 
led, he will not give up his high card, even if 
the Ace is played to the trick ; but will retain it, 
in order to prevent the possibility of the dan- 
gerous player getting into the lead on the 
second round of the suit. In doing this, he of 
course decreases the odds against his getting 
Hearts, by deliberately winning the second 
round. But 2 to I in his favor is a much 
better chance than the certainty, almost, that 
he will be loaded if a particular player is 
allowed the opportunity to lead a certain suit 
again. 

If the student will examine the example 
hands he will find many instances of this 
stratagem, particularly in B's hand in No. 6, 
and Y's in No. 12. 

A player may have no desire to prevent any 
particular adversary from getting the lead ; but 
may be anxious simply to carry out a certain 
line of play. In order to do this it may be 
essential that he should have some direction of 
the course of the hand. This is impossible 
if his play is confined to helplessly following 
suit to everything that is led. He must be 
able to assume the lead himself in order so to 



CONTROL OF THE LEAD. 29 



change the course of the play as to better suit 
his game. 

Let us suppose that he has a dangerous 
hand in plain suits, but is safe in Hearts, and 
decides that his best chance is to lead Hearts 
at every opportunity ; or that he has a certain 
safe suit which it is manifestly to his advantage 
to have led as often as possible. The other 
players, being the ones who are to suffer from 
this line of play, will of course prevent it if 
possible ; and in order to carry out the plan in 
spite of their opposition, it will be necessary 
for the individual player to gain the lead a cer- 
tain number of times, and so force his game 
upon them. 

Again, a player may know that he can load 
a certain adversary if he can get in and lead a 
certain suit or card ; or he may know that by 
giving one player the lead, that player can load 
another. In such cases commanding cards 
must be held or retained, in order to give the 
player a certain control of the lead. 

When a player is attempting to take all thir- 
teen Hearts, the control of the lead, especially 
in the end game, is very important; because 
the design of each of the other players will be 
to get the lead into some other hand, in the 



30 



FOSTER ON HEARTS. 



hope that they may load the player having it, 
and so at least divide the pool. 

If the student will examine A's hand in No. 
10, he will see that if he had held a command- 
ing Spade, with which to win the second round, 
he would have won the pool to a certainty at 
the seventh trick. Other examples are A's 
hand in No. 2 ; Z's in No. 12 ; A's in No. 6 ; 
and Z's in No. 4. 



THE DISCARD. 



One of the most important elements in 
Heart play is the discard. The beginner is 
too apt to discard Hearts at every opportunity ; 
but a little experience will teach him that even 
a 3 in a plain suit may be a better card to part 
with. 

The most important thing in discarding is 
to reduce the odds against your winning the 
pool. Let us suppose that you have the A K 
Q of a plain suit. It is 5^ to I that you get 
a Heart if this suit is led a third time. If you 
can get a discard the odds are at once reduced 
to 2 to 1 in your favor, that being the proba- 
bility that you will escape, even if you have 
to win two rounds. This is a very large per- 
centage, and should never be lost sight of. 
If you have a choice between two discards, 
one being from the K Q J 2 of Hearts, and 
the other from the K Q J of a plain suit, 
select the plain suit. You can improve your 
chances little or none in the Hearts, while 
31 



32 



FOSTER ON HEARTS. 



you not only bring the odds to your side in 
the plain suit, but secure a chance of discard- 
ing on the third round of it. 

Following the same principle, it is evidently 
good play to discard from a suit which has 
been led once or twice, if you have a danger- 
ous card or cards in it. Even if you have a 
safe tenace in a suit, such as 4 and 2, the 5 and 
3 being still out somewhere, it is better to dis- 
card from it if there is the slightest danger of 
your getting the lead. Tenaces are only safe 
when led up to. Many examples of good dis- 
carding will be found in the illustrative hands. 



HOWELL'S SETTLING. 



The great objection to the usual Sweep- 
stake method of settling at Hearts, is that 
it makes the game entirely one of chance. 
No matter how good a player one may be, 
nothing short of good luck will bring him out 
a winner. 

In the four-handed game, where the counters 
are worth, let us say, a dollar, it is quite possible 
for one player to take in only 58 Hearts in 60 
pools, and still be $46 " loser " ; while another 
player may take in 500 Hearts in 60 pools, and 
still be $46 " winner." It may be claimed that 
the player who was $46 ahead at the end 
was the better player, because he won ; but 
most persons will agree that the player 
who takes in only 58 Hearts in 60 pools, 
is a much better player than one who is 
compelled to take in 500 Hearts in the same 
time. 

It was to remedy this defect, and to give 
skill its proper percentage of value, that Mr. 

33 



34 



FOSTER ON HEARTS. 



E. C. Howell, already mentioned in connec- 
tion with our probabilities, proposed another 
method of settling, which has since become 
very popular among those who look upon 
Hearts as a game of skill, and not purely one 
of chance. 

In Howell's settling, each player begins with 
an equal number of counters, usually 100, which 
have an agreed value. At the end of each hand, 
after the Hearts have been counted and an- 
nounced, each player pays into the pool, for 
each Heart he holds, as many counters as there 
are players besides himself. 

Let us suppose the game to be four-handed, 
and that A has taken in 3 Hearts. There be- 
ing three players besides himself, he must pay 
three counters for each Heart, or nine in all. 
Let us further suppose Y and B to have each 
taken five, they must each pay fifteen into the 
pool, which now contains 39 counters. Z, 
having taken none, pays nothing. 

Each player now takes out one counter for 
every Heart he did NOT hold when the Hearts 
were announced. Z, having taken none, takes 
13 out of the pool. A having taken 3 only, 
there were 10 which he did NOT take, and he 
gets 10 counters from the pool. Y and B get 



HOWELL'S SETTLING. 



35 



8 each, which exhausts the pool. There are 
no Jacks. 

Although at first sight this is rather com- 
plicated, it is very simple in practice. Many 
players facilitate matters by having counters 
of different colors, the white being the unit, 
and the red representing the number of whites 
that it will be necessary to pay for each Heart. 
In the four-handed game a red counter would 
be worth three whites; in the five-handed game, 
four, and so on. 

After a little practice, most players become 
as familiar with the amounts of the various 
settlements as they do at Boston, and they 
simply pay or take the differences due them. 
The following table will show the net gain or 
loss in the four-handed game : 



36 



FOSTER ON HEARTS. 



Table for Howell's Settling. 
Four-Handed Game. 



If player takes in 
o Hearts, 
I 

2 

3 " 

4 " 
5 
6 

7 " 
8 

9 " 
io 
ii 

12 

13 



He wins 
13 
9 
5 
i 



He loses 



3 
7 
1 1 

15 
19 

23 
27 

3i 
35 

39 



It will facilitate the recollection of this table 
to observe that if you take in a trick of four 
Hearts you lose three counters, and you lose 
four more counters for every additional Heart 
you take in. If you take in only three Hearts 
you win one counter, and you win four more 
counters for every one less than three. 

It will readily be seen that three Hearts is 



HOWELL'S SETTLING. 



37 



the dead line in this form of settling, and that 
the object of the player must be to avoid 
taking four Hearts, which amounts to the same 
thing as saying that he must take less than 
some one of the others. The player who takes 
in the least number of Hearts in the long run 
must be the winner. 

The first time this is played it looks like a 
pretty severe game for the player taking in a 
large number of Hearts ; but it will be found 
that he very rapidly recovers if he is a good 
player. During a sitting of any length the 
number of counters any player has lost or won 
will indicate exactly the number of Hearts he 
has taken in, more or less than his share. In 
the case already mentioned, where one player 
won 46 counters, and another lost 46, in 60 
pools at Sweepstake Hearts, had the game 
been Howell's settling the result would have 
been very different. The player who took 
in only 58 Hearts would have won 548 
counters, instead of losing 46 ; and the other 
would have lost 1220, instead of winning 46. 

In Howell's settling, the object is not so 
much to load the others as to escape yourself. 
It is never advisable to attempt to take all 
thirteen Hearts, because there are no Jacks; 



38 



FOSTER ON HEARTS. 



but there are many cases in which it is better 
to deliberately take three or four, in order to 
avoid the chance of taking six or eight. For 
an example of these tactics adopted by two 
players in the same hand, see No. n. On the 
same principle, there are often cases in which 
it is advisable to take a trick with one Heart 
in it, in order to get rid of a dangerous card, 
which might bring you in several Hearts later 
on. The general principles of leading and 
discarding are the same as in Sweepstake 
Hearts ; but it is not necessary to take such 
desperate chances to escape entirely. 



THRBB=HANDBD HEARTS. 



In the three-handed game, the deuce of 
Spades is thrown out of the pack, and seven- 
teen cards are dealt to each player. The 
method of settling should be agreed upon 
before play begins, but it will be found a very 
uninteresting game unless Howell's settling is 
adopted. Some persons settle by making the 
player who takes the largest number of Hearts 
pay the two others as many counters as he has 
Hearts in excess of theirs. There are no 
Jacks. 

The three-handed form of the game is more 
difficult to play than any other; partly be- 
cause there are so many rounds of each suit, 
and partly because the moment one player 
refuses, the exact cards of that suit in the other 
two players' hands are known to each of them. 

There is usually a great deal of cross-fight- 
ing in the three-handed game, during which 
one player escapes by getting numerous dis- 
cards. When all three have refused, each a 

39 



40 FOSTER ON HEARTS. 

different suit, the end game becomes a ques- 
tion of generalship ; and the preservation of 
one or more commanding cards, with which to 
control and place the lead, is usually the key 
to the situation. A player who has no high 
cards for the end game, unless he is quite safe, 
is almost certain to be loaded in the last few 
tricks. 



SINGLE-HANDED HEARTS. 



With the exception of double-dummy, all 
good single-handed games of cards are open to 
the objection that they are complicated, and 
difficult to teach ; so that if two persons find 
themselves at a loss for a game, much valuable 
time is lost in instructing each other in the 
mysteries of Piquet, Bezique, or Ecarte. 

Hearts is an excellent resource under such 
circumstances, as it can be learned in a few 
moments. It is also an excellent training 
school for those who have bad card memories ; 
or more properly speaking, for those whose 
powers of observation need cultivating. 

After the usual cutting to decide the deal, 
determination of the value of the counters, 
etc., thirteen cards are dealt to each player, 
one at a time, the remainder of the pack being 
left face down upon the table. The dealer's 
adversary, usually called the pone, begins by 
leading any card he pleases, to which the 
dealer must follow suit if he can. The highest 
41 



42 



FOSTER ON HEARTS. 



card played of the suit led wins the trick, and 
the winner of the trick takes it in. Before 
leading for the next trick, he draws one card 
from the top of the pack lying on the table, 
restoring the number of his cards to thirteen. 
His adversary does the same. The cards are 
played and drawn in this manner until the 
pack is exhausted. The cards remaining in 
the players' hands are then proceeded with in 
the usual manner, and after the last trick each 
player counts and announces the number of 
Hearts he has taken. 

The object of the game is to take less 
Hearts than your opponent, and the method 
of settling is somewhat similar to the odd 
tricks in whist, the first six hearts counting 
nothing, but the player paying his adversary 
one counter for each Heart he takes over six. 

Before opening the hand, the player should 
carefully consider what suits are safe and what 
are dangerous. It is usually best to preserve 
the safe suits and to lead the dangerous ones, 
which you should clear your hand of, if pos- 
sible. It is a great advantage to have a miss- 
ing suit, and equally disadvantageous to have 
a number of a suit of which your adversary is 
probably clear. If a card of a missing suit is 



SINGLE-HANDED HEARTS. 43 



drawn, it is usually best to lead it at once, 
so as to keep the suit clear ; but in so doing, 
be careful first to place the card among the 
others in the hand, or your adversary will 
detect that it is a missing suit. 

The lead is a disadvantage if you have safe 
Hearts ; but toward the end of the stock, from 
which cards are drawn, it is an advantage to 
have commanding cards, with which you can 
assume the lead if necessary. 

There is some finesse in determining 
whether or not to change the suit often in the 
leads. If you have a better memory than 
your adversary, it may be well to change 
often ; but if not, it may assist you to keep at 
one suit until afraid to lead it again. 

In Single-Handed Hearts, keeping count of 
the cards is the most important matter, 
because the real play comes after the stock is 
exhausted, and the moment that occurs you 
should know every card in your adversary's 
hand. The exact number of each suit should 
be a certainty, if not the exact rank of the 
cards. Until you can depend on yourself for 
this, you are not a good player. 

The method I usually adopt for keeping 
count of the cards is to fix upon a certain 



44 



FOSTER ON HEARTS. 



order of the suits, which I always preserve, 
such as Os 4^- Any person may fix 

this order in mind by recollecting that his Heart 
is the first thing to live ; that later on he must 
take a Club in his hand to fight his way 
toward some of the Diamonds that represent 
earthly prosperity, and that after all, the 
Spade must dig his grave. Having a certain 
order of suits fixed in mind it is necessary 
only to count mentally the number of each 
suit played, adding to it, and repeating it, after 
every trick. For instance : if after five tricks, 
there have been played 2^?'s; o 4 0>'s; 

and 4 y° u count mentally " 2, nothing, 

4, 4." If two Clubs fall in the next trick, 
" 2, 2, 4, 4 " ; and so on. This count is a very 
useful guide as to the advisability of leading 
suits that are running short ; and at the end, 
when the stock is exhausted, the addition of 
the number played in each suit to those remain- 
ing in your hand will at once reveal the con- 
tents of the opponents hand. 

After having practised this method for some 
time, it will be found more and more easy to 
keep account of the rank of the cards played, 
especially in the suits in which you are not 
safe. 



SINGLE-HANDED HEARTS. 



45 



It is often necessary, before the stock is ex- 
hausted, for a player to know the probability 
of certain suits being missing in his oppo- 
nent's hand. This of course varies greatly 
with the number of played cards in the suit 
in question, and with the number of cards re- 
maining in the stock. If the player keeps 
a close count of the cards played in each suit, 
the solution of the problem will often be an 
easy matter. Let us take an instance. You 
have 3 ^'s; 3 dfb's; 2 O's; 5 4^'s, in your 
hand, and your mental count is 6, 4, 10, 2. 
There are therefore four cards remaining in the 
stock. Now, it is a certainty that your advers- 
ary has at least two Clubs and two Spades. So 
if you have safe Spades, it is better to keep 
them, as you know you can give him the lead 
with them at any time. Let us suppose that 
you lead the Club, win the trick, and draw a 
Diamond. Your count is now 6, 6, 10, 2, and 
your opponent has some of each suit, except 
Diamonds. You continue a Club, and draw 
a Spade. 

You have now arrived at the last thirteen 
tricks, in which the play begins in earnest. 
It is usually a problem in double-dummy ; but 
the advantage will always be found to be with 



4 6 



FOSTER ON HEARTS. 



the player who has carefully prepared himself 
for the final struggle by preserving certain 
safe suits, and getting rid of those in which it 
became evident that his adversary had the 
small and safe cards. 

Some very pretty positions arise in the end 
game, it being often possible to foresee that 
four or five tricks must be played in a certain 
manner in order to ensure the lead being 
properly placed at the end, so that the odd 
Hearts may be avoided. 



AUCTION HEARTS. 

This is usually played by four persons, 
although five or six may form a table. The 
cards having been cut and dealt, the value of 
counters determined, etc., as in other forms of 
the game, the player to the left of the dealer, 
whom we shall call A, examines his hand, and 
determines which suit he would prefer to 
play to get clear of. It may be that if the 
game were to get rid of Clubs instead of 
Hearts, his hand would be a very good one, 
whereas if the suit were to remain Hearts it 
would be a very bad one. Let us suppose his 
hand to consist of the ^ A K 8; e|> J 6 5 4 3 
2 ; K 4 ; and the ^ 7 3. If the suit re- 
mains Hearts, he is almost certain to take in a 
number; but if it is changed to Clubs, he is 
almost as certain of getting clear. The hand is 
not absolutely safe, as Hearts might be led two 
or three times before the Clubs in the other 
hands were exhausted by the original leader, 
47 



4 8 



FOSTER ON HEARTS. 



whose game would be to lead small Clubs. As 
the pool will contain thirteen counters to a 
certainty, he can afford to bid in proportion 
to his chances of winning it for the privilege of 
making Clubs the suit to be avoided, instead 
of Hearts. 

It might be assumed that if the odds were 
10 to i that the player would get clear if 
the suit were Clubs, that therefore he could 
afford to bid ten times the amount of the pool, 
or 130, for his chance. Theoretically this is 
correct, but if he should lose one such pool, he 
would have to win ten others to get back his 
bid alone, to say nothing of the amounts he 
would lose by paying his share in pools won 
by others. Let us suppose him to win his 
share, one-fourth of all the pools. While he is 
winning the ten pools necessary to regain his 
single loss, he has to stand his share of the 
losses in the other thirty, which would average 
about 128 counters. This must show us that 
even if a player has a 10 to 1 chance in his 
favor, he must calculate not only to lose that 
chance once in eleven times, but must make 
provision for the amounts he will lose in other 
pools. 

My experience is that a bid of 25 would be 



AUCTION HEARTS. 



49 



about the amount a good player would make 
on such a hand as we are considering, if the 
pool were not a Jack, and he had first say. 
The player does not name the suit he bids on, 
only the amount bid for choice. 

The next player, Y, now examines his hand. 
Let us suppose that he finds, ^643; €$» A 
K 10 ; 8 7 5 3 ; ^ 6 5 4. If the first bidder 
is offering on Clubs, it is evident that he will 
lead them, as the successful bidder has the 
original lead in Auction Hearts ; and it is 
equally evident that if he does so, a player 
with A K 10 will have to pay for most of the 
pool. If any of the other suits is the one bid 
on, B has as good a chance for the pool as 
anyone, at least to divide it. With two men 
still to bid, a good player would probably 
make himself safe by shutting out A's bid, 
probably offering 26. 

Let us suppose B then to examine his hand, 
finding ^ J 10 ; <|» Q 9 8 7 ; A 10 9 ; £ 10 
982. Being unsafe in everything, he passes, 
and practically submits to his fate, his only 
hope being that the pool will result in a Jack. 
Z then examines his hand, finding ^?,Q 9 7 5 
2 ; <f» none ; OQJ62; | A K Q J. He 
sees at once that on Spades he would lose 



FOSTER ON HEARTS. 



everything, and on Diamonds he would have a 
very poor chance. On Clubs the result would 
depend on how often Spades were led. In 
Hearts, he has a very good hand, especially as 
he has a missing suit to discard in. As he is 
the last bidder he can make sure of the choice 
for 27, which he bids, and pays into the pool. 
The result of the play is given in Example 
No. 12. (As the cards happen to lie, had A 
been the successful bidder and made it Clubs, 
Z would have won the pool.) 

As the deal carries with it the advantage 
of the last bid, it is the most desirable position 
at the table. There is no second bid, and a 
player having once passed is out of it. If two 
players get clear, they divide the pool, which 
consists of the thirteen counters paid in by 
those who were loaded, and the amount bid 
for the choice of suits. If one player takes all 
thirteen, it is a Jack, as at Sweepstakes ; but 
instead of the next choice being sold to the 
highest bidder, the successful bidder on the Jack 
hand has the choice again, and must select some 
suit, although he pays nothing for it. The 
same player must continue to select a suit 
until someone wins the pool. 

It is a generally recognized principle in 



AUCTION HEARTS. 



51 



Auction Hearts that the three play against the 
successful bidder, and that they spare no effort 
to load him, even though they allow each other 
to escape while so doing. Auction Hearts re- 
quires a long purse and a short neck to play 
it successfully. 



SPOT HEARTS. 

In this variety of the game, when the Hearts 
are counted and announced at the end of the 
hand, the spots on them are the units of value, 
the Jack being worth n, the Queen 12, the 
King 13, and the Ace 14. The innovation 
adds nothing to the interest or skill of the 
game, but has a tendency to create confusion 
and delay, owing to the numerous disputes as 
to the correctness of the count in the various 
hands. 

The usual method of settling in Spot Hearts 
is for the player having the smallest number 
to collect from each of the others the amount 
they have in excess of his. The total number 
to be accounted for in each deal is 104. 

The chief variation in the play arises from 
the fact that one cannot afford to play his 
highest Heart fourth hand, when he is com- 
pelled to win the trick. In the ordinary game, 
if a player sees that he must win the trick in 
any case, he will put up his highest Heart, but 
52 



SPOT HEARTS. 



S3 



in Spot Hearts he cannot always do this. If 
the 2 is led, and the 4 and 5 fall to it, the last 
player having the 6 and 8, his play in Spot 
Hearts is to win the trick with the 6, and 
return the 8. There are occasional instances 
in which a player can count the Hearts still to 
come, and knows that even should he be com- 
pelled to take all of them, the combined spots 
on them would not equal those on the trick 
before him, which he can decline to win ; 
although it is a certainty that he will have to 
win all the other Hearts if he refuses. 



DRIVE HEARTS. 



This is a very interesting variation for card 
parties of large numbers. The players are first 
arranged in fours, each four at a separate table. 
The tables are numbered, and lots are drawn 
to decide the positions of the players at the 
beginning of the game ; four duplicates of each 
number being used in drawing. 

No counters are used, the player taking the 
smallest number of Hearts at each table going 
to the one next above in order. Ties cut for 
the advancement. Each player is provided 
with a card, and at each upward move a green 
star is attached to it. Upon reaching the head 
table, or No. I, the player taking the least 
number of Hearts sits still, getting a green 
star, and the one taking the largest number 
goes to the bottom table. If the player at the 
head table is again successful in taking the 
least number, he gets a gold star ; and con- 
tinues to get gold stars until he fails to take 
the least Hearts. In case of ties at the head 

54 



DRIVE HEARTS. 



55 



table, the two having taken the smallest num- 
ber of Hearts retain their seats without cutting, 
and both get green stars, irrespectively of their 
having previously taken the least number, gold 
stars being only for those taking less than any 
other player at the head table two or more 
times in succession. When two tie for the 
least Hearts at the head table, the two others 
go down, and two players are advanced from 
each of the other tables. In cases of three ties 
at the head table for the least number of 
Hearts, each gets a green star, and the fourth 
player goes down. In cases of ties for the 
largest number of Hearts taken at the head 
table, the tying players cut to go down. 

The number of players to move up is an- 
nounced from the head table by bell taps. One 
tap for one player; two taps for two. 

Any player taking all thirteen Hearts at any 
table but No. I must sit still for the next two 
hands irrespective of his score. A player tak- 
ing thirteen at the head table, must stay at the 
bottom table for the next two hands. 

The scoring is sometimes varied by giving 
green stars for the least number of Hearts 
taken at each of the tables, ties both receiving 
stars ; and giving gold stars to any player at 



56 



FOSTER ON HEARTS. 



any table who takes no Hearts, each of the 
three other players at that table having at 
least one. In this form of the game the 
advancement from table to table is not by 
merit, but the players sitting north and south 
at one table move up, and take the east and 
west positions at the next above ; those whose 
positions they take going to the north and 
south positions at the next table, and so on. 
This arrangement requires that an even number 
of tables shall be engaged in play. Two of the 
players at each table retain their seats through- 
out half the evening, then they move. This 
circulation insures the meeting of all those 
engaged in play. 



PROGRESSIVE HEARTS. 



Progressive Hearts is distinguished from 
Drive Hearts by the arrangement of the 
players, it being intended for an equal number 
of ladies and gentlemen. 

A sufficient number of tables to accommo- 
date the players are arranged in order, and 
numbered consecutively ; No. I being called 
the head table. 

Two slips for each table are placed in a hat, 
one for the North and South position, and one 
for the East and West. In another hat are 
placed the names of all the ladies about to 
play, and in another those of all the gentlemen. 
By drawing a slip from each hat simultaneously, 
the original partners and their positions are 
determined. 

Each table having decided upon the dealer 
in the usual way, play begins upon the tap of 
the bell at the head table. The game is prac- 
tically Sweepstake Hearts, although there are 

57 



58 



FOSTER ON HEARTS. 



no stakes, and the object of each player is to 
load the adversary of the same gender. 

At the conclusion of the hand the ladies 
compare their cards, and the one having the 
less Hearts goes to the next higher table. The 
gentlemen compare in the same way, so that 
one lady and one gentleman go up each time. 
They take the seats that have been vacated by 
those leaving the table they go to. All ties 
are determined by cutting ; those cutting the 
higher card going up. Ace is low in cutting. 

It is quite admissible for a lady, who is safe 
herself, to load the gentleman that she favors 
least, so as to leave him behind. Gentlemen 
are also at liberty to help their favorites along, 
even at the cost of their own positions. 

For the purpose of scoring, each player has 
a card. The two having the least number of 
Hearts at the head table retain their seats, and 
each of them receives a gold star. Each of 
those winning and moving up at any other 
table, receives a red star ; and those losing, or 
taking the greatest number of Hearts at the 
last or booby table, receive each a green star. 
Prizes are usually given to those having the 
greatest number of each variety of star, making 
six in all, the ladies and gentlemen being 



PROGRESSIVE HEARTS. 



59 



separately compared. The booby prizes are 
usually more distinguished for their size and 
oddity than for their value. 

There are several other varieties of Progres- 
sive Hearts, but this will be found the most 
popular and easily managed. 



JOKER HEARTS. 



In this form of the game, the deuce of 
Hearts is discarded, and the Joker takes its 
place. The Joker occupies a position between 
the Ten and the Jack in value, with the added 
peculiarity that it cannot be discarded on a 
plain suit, for if it is, it wins the trick, unless a 
higher Heart is in the same trick. The only 
chance for a player having the Joker dealt to 
him to get rid of it, is to play it on a trick in 
which Hearts are led, and in which some player 
must play a court card, Ace, King, Queen, or 
Jack ; or if any of these court cards are dis- 
carded in a trick in plain suits, the player hold- 
ing the Joker, whether he has any of the suit led 
or not, can not only get rid of his Joker with 
safety, but compel the player who has discarded 
the high Heart to win the trick, instead of get- 
ting rid of his Heart. 

In settling, the Joker is worth five counters. 
Among some players this amount is paid into 
60 



JOKER HEARTS. 



6l 



the general pool, while with others the custom 
is to pay the five to the player who succeeds 
in getting rid of the Joker. If the player hold- 
ing it takes it in, he pays the pool. This is a 
very exasperating game, and success depends 
more on good luck than good managament. 



THE LAWS OF HEARTS 



1. Formation of table. Those first in the 
room have the preference. If more than the 
necessary number assemble the choice shall 
be determined by cutting, those cutting the 
lowest cards having the right to play. Six 
persons is the largest number that can play at 
one table. The player cutting the lowest card 
has the deal. 

2. In cutting, the Ace is low. Players cut- 
ting cards of equal value, cut again. All must 
cut from the same pack, and any person expos- 
ing more than one card must cut again. Draw- 
ing cards from an outspread pack is equivalent 
to cutting. 

3. A complete Heart pack consists of fifty- 
two cards, which rank in the following order : — 
AKQJ 10 9876543 2, the Ace being 
highest in play. In Three-Handed Hearts, the 
Spade deuce is thrown out. In Five-Handed, 
both the black deuces are laid aside. In Six- 
Handed, all four deuces are discarded. In 

62 



THE LAWS OF HEARTS. 



63 



Joker Hearts the Heart deuce is replaced by 
the Joker. 

4. When two packs are used, the player 
next but one on the dealer's left must collect 
and shuffle the cards for the next deal, placing 
them on his right. The dealer has the privi- 
lege of shuffling last. 

5. The dealer must present the pack to his 
right hand adversary to be cut. Not less than 
four cards shall constitue a cut. 

6. In case of any confusion or exposure of 
the cards in cutting, or in reuniting them after 
cutting, the pack must be shuffled and cut 
again. 

7. If the dealer re-shuffles the cards after 
they have been properly cut, or looks at the 
bottom card, he loses his deal. 

8. After the cards have been cut, the dealer 
must distribute them one at a time to each 
player in rotation, beginning at his left, and 
continuing until the pack is exhausted ; or in 
Single-Handed Hearts, until each player has 
thirteen. 

9. The deal passes to the left. 

10. There must be a new deal by the same 
dealer if the pack is proved to be incorrect, 
either during the deal or during the play of a 



6 4 



FOSTER ON HEARTS. 



hand ; or if any card is faced in the pack ; or 
if any card is found to be so marked or muti- 
lated in any way that it can be named. In the 
last case a new pack must be used. 

11. If a card is exposed during the deal, the 
player to whom it is dealt may demand a new 
deal, provided he has not touched any of his 
cards. If the deal stands, the exposed card 
cannot be called. 

12. Anyone dealing out of turn may be 
stopped before the last card is dealt. After 
that the deal must stand, and the packs, if 
changed, must so remain. 

13. It is a misdeal : if the dealer omits to 
have the pack cut, and the error is discovered 
before the last card is dealt ; or if he deals a 
card incorrectly, and fails to remedy it before 
dealing another ; or if he counts the cards on 
the table, or those remaining in the pack ; or 
if it is discovered before all have played to the 
first trick that any player has not his proper 
number of cards, the pack being perfect. 

14. A misdeal loses the deal unless one of 
the other players has touched his cards, or in 
any way interrupted the dealer. 

15. If, after the first trick is played to, any 
two players are found to have more or less 



THE LAWS OF HEARTS. 



65 



than their correct number of cards, the pack 
being perfect, the one having less shall draw 
from the hand of the one having more, and 
each shall pay a forfeit of five counters into 
the pool. 

16. If a player omits to play to any trick, 
and plays to the following one, he shall not be 
allowed to correct the error ; but shall be com- 
pelled to take in the thirteenth trick, with 
whatever Hearts it may contain. 

17. Should a player be found during or at 
the end of a hand to be a card short, all the 
others having the right number, and all having 
played to the first trick, he shall be compelled 
to take in the thirteenth trick. 

18. If a player lead or play two cards to a 
trick, he must indicate the one intended, and 
leave the other face up on the table. Any 
card exposed, except in the proper course of 
play, or any card named by the player holding 
it, must be left face up on the table. 

19. A player must lead or play any exposed 
card when called upon to do so by any other 
player, provided he can do so without revok- 
ing. He cannot be prevented from playing an 
exposed card, and if he can so get rid of it, no 
penalty remains. 



66 



FOSTER ON HEARTS. 



20. If a player leads out of turn, a suit may 
be called from him when it is next his proper 
turn to lead. This penalty can be enforced 
only by the player on his right. If he has 
none of the suit called, or if all have played to 
the false lead, no penalty can be enforced. If 
all have not played to the false lead, the cards 
can be taken back, and are not exposed cards. 

21. If the third hand plays before the 
second, the fourth hand may demand that the 
card be taken back, and may call upon the 
third hand to play the highest card he has of 
the suit ; or may call upon him not to discard 
Hearts. If the fourth plays before the third, 
the second player may demand the penalty. 

22. The first player to any trick having 
led, the others must follow suit if they can. 
Should a player revoke, and discover the error 
before the trick in which it occurs has been 
turned and quitted, he may amend his play, 
and the card played in error becomes an 
exposed card. Any who have played after 
him may withdraw their cards and substitute 
others, the cards first played not being 
exposed. 

23. If the revoke is discovered during the 
play of the hand, the hand must be played 



THE LAWS OF HEARTS. 



6/ 



out, and at the end the revoking player must 
pay all losses in that hand. Should the revok- 
ing player win the pool himself, he must put 
up the thirteen counters and leave them for 
a Jack. Should he divide it, he must pay 
the other winner six counters, and leave up 
seven for a Jack. 

24. Should two or more players revoke in 
the same hand, each must pay the entire losses 
in the hand, as if he were alone in error ; so 
that if two should revoke, and a third win the 
pool, he would receive twenty-six counters, 
instead of thirteen. In Auction Hearts the 
revoking player must pay the amount of the 
bid in addition. 

25. The claimant of a revoke may search all 
the tricks at the end of a hand. The revoke 
is established if the accused player mixes 
the cards before the claimants have time to 
examine them. 

26. A revoke must be claimed before the 
tricks have been mixed, preparatory to 
shuffling for the next deal. 

27. If a player is lawfully called upon to 
lead a certain suit, or to play the highest of it, 
and unnecessarily fails to comply, he is liable 
to the penalties for a revoke. 



68 



FOSTER ON HEARTS. 



28. Any trick once turned and quitted must 
not again be seen until the hand is played. 
Any player violating this rule is subject to the 
same penalties as for a lead out of turn. 

29. In settling at the end of the hand, the 
player having taken no Hearts, each of the 
others having taken at least one, wins the 
pool. Two players having taken none, the 
other two having each at least one, divide it, 
the odd counter remaining until the next pool. 
Three players having taken none, the thirteen 
counters remain in the pool, forming a Jack, 
which can be won only by one player taking 
no Hearts, each of the others having taken 
at least one. During the time the Jack is 
played for, and until it is won, each player 
must add to the pool by paying for the Hearts 
he takes in each hand. 

30. In Auction Hearts, the player to the 
left of the dealer has the first bid, the dealer 
the last, and there is no second bid. 



EXAMPLE HANDS. 



In the following illustrative hands, A is 
always the original leader. The underlined 
card wins the trick, and the card under it is 
the next one led. The Hearts are given in 
full-faced type, in order to enable the student 
to count them easily. The initials and figures 
in the right-hand margin indicate the player 
winning the trick, and the number of Hearts 
he takes in with it. The initials and figures at 
the bottom of each column show the total 
number of Hearts taken by each player. 

If the student will take the necessary 
trouble to lay out the actual cards upon the 
table, and study carefully the play of each 
hand as it progresses, he will get a very fair 
idea of the principles followed by players of 
the first class, especially in such important 
matters as controlling the lead, and discarding. 



6 9 



70 FOSTER ON HEARTS. 

No. 1. 

SWEEPSTAKE HEARTS. 



No. OF 
Trick 


A 


V 


B 


Z 


Hearts 
Taken 


I 


ioO 


JO 


QO 


KQ 




2 


6* 


A4 


Q* 


10$ 




3 


*♦ 




J* 


9<fr 




4 


40 


50 


80 


0?A 


B i 


5 


09 5 


0? 2 


V 4 


0? 3 


A 4 


6 


4b 6 


* 8 


*A 


* J 




7 


0? J 


Q?10 


0? 8 




Z 4 


8 




7» 


5* 


3 4 


Y i 


9 


* 4 


* 5 


♦ K 


^»io 




TO 


u V 


O V 


mii / V 






I I 


AO 


* 7 


±Q 


84k 




12 


90 


9 


07 7 


4^ 


Y 2 




20 




0? 6 


<$ 2 


Y i 




A 4 


Y 4 


B i 


z 4 





Making it a Jack. 



SWEEPSTAKE HEARTS. 



71 



No. 1.' 



10 9 2 
* 8 7 5 3 

J 5 3 
4 A K 7 




A Q 3 
4* J 1092 
K 

♦ 10 9 8 4 3 



A may call himself safe in everything but Hearts, and has 
an excellent chance for discards in Clubs and Spades. It is 
unfortunate that he has the S 2, because the fall of such a card 
usually stops the suit at once. 

Trick 1. A begins, as recommended on page 16, by leading 
the intermediate Diamond. 

Trick 3. Y's only dangerous suit is Spades, and he hastens 
to get rid of the K before anyone discards the suit. A has 
no more. 

Trick 4. B is unfortunate in getting H A on the second 
round of Diamonds. His game now is to make it a Jack, by 
loading the others. 

Trick 5. Some players, with A's hand, would play H K 
and continue the Diamonds ; but while he has any chance 
to win by discarding on Clubs and Spades, he should not 
deliberately take any Hearts. 

Trick 10. B must get rid of the Diamond and Club before 
leading the low Heart. 



72 FOSTER ON HEARTS. 

No. 2. 

SWEEPSTAKE HEARTS. 



No. OF 
Trick 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


Hearts 

1 AiViiiiN. 


i 


ioO 


QO 


40 


JO 




2 


70 


50 


20 


80 




3 












4 


* 2 


* Q 


* 8 


<fr A 




5 


<fr K 


4b IO 


* 7 


* J 




6 


30 


104^ 


V 10 


6Q 


Z I 


7 


W 9 




J ♦ 


9? 3 


A3 


8 


34 






<2 K 


B i 


9 


Q A 


•*» 3 


* o 


#» 9 




IO 


6A 


5 


Q A 


0? 6 


Z 2 


1 1 


AO 


0? 4 


74 




Z 2 


12 


K0 


2 


* 5 


g j 


Z 2 


13 


90 


9? A 


* 4 


V 8 


Y 2 




A 3 


Y 2 


B i 


Z7 





Making it a Jack. 



SWEEPSTAKE HEARTS. 



73 



V A 7 5 4 2 
* Q io 3 
No. 2. Q 5 

4 A io 4 

0? 9 I ^ I V io 

*K 2 B + 87654 

OAK 10 973 4 2 

* K863 I z I ♦ Q J 9 7 5 

K Q J 8 6 3 

* A J 9 
J 8 6 

♦ 2 

With A's hand, to lead the C K and then the 2, or to drop 
the 2 on the second round, would at once betray the suit. 
Some players would begin with S K ; but I prefer the inter- 
mediate lead from the long suit. The H 9 is the only really 
dangerous feature of A's hand. 

2d Trick. Y wants to prepare for a discard. 

4th Trick. Y is now forced to Clubs. He is so sure of the 
pool that he can afford to keep his Hearts to load the others. 
A holds up C K to be sure of a lead in Diamonds, which 
must result in loading one of the other players. 

6th Trick. If Y discards H A he must win a trick in 
Spades. 

8th Trick. A's play is now to load Y and B by leading 
Spades, which Z should have no more of, having led the % 
Originally, 



74 FOSTER ON HEARTS. 

No. 3. 

SWEEPSTAKE HEARTS. 



No. OF 
Trick 


A 


V 


B 


Z 


Hearts 
Taken. 


I 


104 


Q 4 








2 


* J 


♦ A 


* 4 






3 


60 


A_Q 


J 


Q0 




4 


50 


K Q 


io0 


90 




5 


40 


30 


20 


80 




6 


* 9 


* 7 


* 3 


♦ Q 




7 


* 6 


* 5 


4k 2 


<f» IO 




8 




64k 




J 4 




9 






^ K 


94 


Z i 


IO 


ro A 
v a 


ro d 

v fcfc 


ro 1 n 


V o 


A 4 


1 1 


7 


2 J 


9 


7* 


Y 3 


12 


V 6 




<9 4 


*8 


Y 3 


13 


A ♦ 




2 3 


70 


B 2 




A 4 


Y 6 


B 2 


Z i 





Making it a Jack, 



SWEEPSTAKE HEARTS. 



75 



No. 3. 

W A 7 6 

* J 9 6 

6 5 4 

£ A 10 3 2 



Q J 8 2 

* A 7 5 

A K 3 

4 Q 6 5 




<P 5 

* K Q 10 8 
Q 9 8 7 

♦ K J 9 7 



K 10 9 4 3 
4 3 2 
J 10 2 
8 4 



2d Trick. Z sees that with such a hand escape is impossible. 
As his chief danger is in being loaded with Hearts at the end, 
he clears his hand as rapidly as possible. 

9th Trick. The S A being held up, it looks as if A were safe 
in that suit with A 5 2. If Z now leads the H 5, and A gets 
into the lead, returning the Spade, Z must take every other 
trick. 

10th Trick. If Z now leads S 7, he loads A ; but if his H 5 
should win the next trick he will take all the rest of the 
Hearts, Y and B dividing the pool. If he leads the H 5 first 
he cannot get more than four Hearts, and the other players 
will inevitably make a Jack of it. 

nth Trick. Y sees that if he underplays the 7 led, B will 
win the pool, as he has nothing but Hearts, A having only one 
more. He keeps A out of the lead by winning two rounds, 
so as to be sure of loading B, making it a Jack. The ending 
js very well played. 



76 FOSTER ON HEARTS. 

No. 4. 

SWEEPSTAKE HEARTS. 



No. OF 
Trick 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


Hearts 
Taken. 


I 


Z> A 


^> J 


V 9 




A 4 


2 






6 


<2 10 


A 4 


3 




A A 


Z> 3 


7 


A3 


4 




* J 


* 9 


* K 




5 


±Q 


Jfrio 


* 8 






6 


K 


90 


ioO 


50 




7 


Q 




70 


30 




8 


J 


40 


60 


20 




9 


°f 




OA 


K ▲ 




IO 


IO A, 


8A 


5* 


2* 




ii 


Li 


3* 




AO 




12 


* 4 


* 6 


» 7 


9? 4 


B i 


13 


* 3 


♦ 5 


<A 2 




Y i 




A ii 


Y i 


B i 


Z o 





Z wins the pool, 



SWEEPSTAKE HEARTS. 



77 




No. 4. 

%> A K 8 

* A Q 4 3 
K Q J 

♦ J 10 6 

Z> Q 10742 
4k K 

A 5 3 2 
4 K 7 2 

A, with this hopeless hand, sees that his best line of play 
is to take all thirteen Hearts, making it a Jack. Z, having 
a very fine hand, with control of the lead in every suit but 
Clubs, thinks he has an excellent chance to win the pool, or 
at least divide it, by distributing the Hearts between Y and B, 
after A has exhausted himself. 

6th Trick. It is now impossible for Z to take a Heart if he 
allows the Diamonds to be exhausted. 

9th Trick. A tries to keep control of Spades. 

loth Trick. It is certain that A has not the best Club, or 
he would not have stopped leading them, so Y or B must win 
a trick in that suit, preventing a Jack, and assuring Z at least 
half the pool. 



78 FOSTER ON HEARTS. 

No. S. 

SWEEPSTAKE HEARTS. 



No. OF 
Trick 


A 


V 


B 


Z 


Hearts 
Taken. 


I 


Z> 4 




<9 3 


Z> A 


z 4 


2 


& A 




* 8 


* J 




3 


V 7 


V 6 


2 io 


^ 5 


B 4 


4 


KO 


30 


AQ 


J 




5 


80 


20 


90 


60 




6 




74 








7 




8 








8 


J* 




J 




Y2 




Hearts 


all 


out. 








Ao 


Y 2 


B 7 


Z 4 





A wins the pool. 



SWEEPSTAKE HEARTS. 



79 




Z> Q 8 6 2 

* Q 3 
No. 5. 3 2 

4* 75432 

^974 

* A K 10 
K Q 8 7 
4k A J 6 

V A 5 

* J 9 4 

J 10 6 5 4 
4 10 9 8 

A, with his high and dangerous hand, determines to play 
Hearts every time he can get the lead, which is his only hope 
for the pool. Even if he cannot win it, he can at least reduce 
his losses very considerably, and perhaps make it a Jack by 
rapidly loading the other players. 

5th Trick. Both A and Z are afraid to win this on account 
of the low Diamond played by Y to the fourth trick. Had 
Z won this trick and led a third round of Diamonds he would 
have loaded A ; but Y would have won the pool by getting 
the discard of H Q. 



8o FOSTER ON HEARTS. 

No. e. 

SWEEPSTAKE HEARTS. 



No. OF 
Trick 


A 


y 


B 


Z 


Hearts 
Taken. 


i 


*A 




dfrio 


*Q 




2 


* 5 


4k 2 


* 9 


±1 




3 


ioO 


J 


90 


AO 




4 


QO 




KQ 


40 




5 




J ♦ 


A 4 


9* 




6 






K» 


«♦ 




7 


V A 


70 


30 




Y 2 


8 




4 


3 


5 


A 4 


9 


* 4 


CO V 


* 6 


«g» 7 


7 T 


IO 


09 9 








Y 2 


ii 






* 8 




Z 3 


12 


Z> 6 




60 


4+ 


Y i 




* 3 


50 


20 


34 






A 4 


Y 5 


B o 


Z 4 





B wins the pool. 



SWEEPSTAKE HEARTS. 



8l 



W K 4 2 

* K 2 

No. 6. J 8 7 5 
4 J io 7 6 

<? A io 9 7 6 | ^ I J 3 

* AS43 A * io 9 8 6 
OQio A OK9632 

♦ Q 2 I z I 4 A K 

<P Q 8 5 

* Q J 7 

A 4 

* 9 8 5 4 3 

A has an even chance to escape, and it is better for him to 
be third or fourth player in Hearts than to lead them. 

3d Trick. B sees from the fall of the Clubs that Y has no 
more, and that A is safe in them and will lead them again ; 
so he holds up D K to keep A out of the lead. 

7th Trick. As A's hand can now be counted to contain either 
the 7 4 3 of Clubs and four dangerous Hearts, or the 4 3 of 
Clubs and five Hearts, B's game is clearly to lead Diamonds, 
in order to load Y and Z. His only dangerous card, the H J, 
will go on the next round of Spades, which must be led again 
in the next two or three tricks. 



82 FOSTER ON HEARTS. 

No. 7. 

SWEEPSTAKE HEARTS. 



No. OF 
Trick 


A 


V 


R 

J—? 


z 


Hearts 
Taken 


I 




A* 




IO $ 


Y 1 


2 


*K 


4> 8 


*Q 


jfc A 




3 


* 4 


* 3 


♦ J 


* 5 




4 




AO 


QO 


JO 




5 




KQ 


10O 


40 




6 


<?A 


20 


6Q 


30 


B 1 


7 




70 


50 


9* 




8 


0? 6 


<2 4 


2 8 


<J? 3 


B 4 


9 




^? 9 


7 




A 4 


IO 


4# 


34* 


«§9 IO 


J£jg 




1 1 




24 


* 9 


5» 


Z 1 


12 


& 6 




* 7 


6J 


Z 1 


r 3 




5 


90 


7A 


Z 1 




A 4 


Y 1 


B 5 


Z3 





Making it a Jack. 



SWEEPSTAKE HEARTS. 



83 



No. 7. 



<3? A J 10 6 

* K 6 4 2 

8 

♦ K Q J 4 




K 8 7 

Q J 10 9 7 

Q 10 9 6 5 
none 



W 3 2 

* A 5 

J 4 3 

♦ 10 9 8 7 6 5 

A sees that it is hardly possible for him to escape without 
taking in some Hearts, and that it would be equally difficult 
for him to take them all. His plan is therefore to load all the 
others. 

Y had reasonable hopes of getting clear with his hand, but 
after unexpectedly getting loaded on the first trick, he plays to 
make it a Jack. 

3d Trick. It is evident that B has the high Clubs. 

5th Trick. A does not give Y a Heart, because he already 
has one. He knows B will be loaded if Clubs are led again, 
and hopes to load him himself if Diamonds are continued. He 
has booked Z for a long suit of Hearts or Spades. 

8th Trick. This shows that Z is safe in Hearts, and that he 
is in a bad way on Spades. A cannot escape, but it is almost 
a sure Jack, as Y would have led out any dangerous Spades 
if he held them, before the Heart. 



8 4 



FOSTER ON HEARTS. 



No. 8. 



SWEEPSTAKE HEARTS. 



No. OF 
Trick 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


Hearts 
Taken. 


I 




AO 


KO 


QO 


ioO 




2 


JO 


90 


80 


50 




3 


20 


30 


z> J 


40 


Z i 


4 


<y a 


<2?10 


<2 9 


V 6 


A 4 


5 


* 2 


* J 


* Q 


*A 




6 




4k 6 




* 5 


B i 


7 


K* 


A A 


J* 


4k K 




8 




3 


Z> 8 


4 


A 4 


9 


? A 


i A 
3* 


7 + 


«S» 9 




IO 


OA 


4k io 


4k 7 


4k 4 




1 1 




V 5 




V 2 


Y2 


12 




70 


5* 


<P 7 


Y i 


13 


IO* 


6Q 


4* 


4k 3 






A 8 


Y 3 


B i 


Z i 





Making it a Jack. 



SWEEPSTAKE HEARTS. 



85 



Z> 10 5 3 

4k J io 6 

No. 8. K 9 7 6 3 

4 A 3 



A K Q 
4» 2 

A J 2 

4b K Q 109 8 2 



^7642 
4k A K 9 5 4 3 
10 5 4 
ifk none 

A might attempt to take all thirteen Hearts with this hand ; 
but while he has any chance to escape by discards on Clubs, 
he should take it. He is not safe enough in Spades to begin 
with the 10. 

3d Trick. Z thought he could win this pool, but being 
loaded, he turns his attention to making it a Jack. 

6th Trick. Both A and Z being intent on loading Y and B, 
it is almost impossible for the latter to escape. Z knows that 
A's 2 must have been a singleton, and that the lead of a 
small Club must load Y or B at once. 

7th Trick. Z holds off, to load Y. 

nth Trick. Y's only hope is that the 7 and 3 of Hearts are 
divided, 




86 FOSTER ON HEARTS. 

No. 9. 

SWEEPSTAKE HEARTS. 



No. OF 
Trick 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


Hearts 

T A iTT?vr 
1 AKhJN, 


i 




^ 3 




^ 4 


B 4 


2 






A ▲ 






3 


J4 


Q4. 


1041 


8* 




4 


<9 8 


^? 6 






B 4 


5 


KO 


54 


W 9 


% a 


Z 2 


6 


90 


JO 


AQ 


QO 




7 


70 


50 


60 


30 




8 


«fr A 


4k K 


* 7 






9 


* 5 


A T 
g J 


a ft 

«f» o 


JL T f\ 




IO 


cf» Q 




C? J 


0? A 


A 2 


1 1 


2* 


ioO 




34 




12 


* 8 


80 


20 


K 


Y i 


13 


♦ 4 




40 


64 






A 2 


Y i 


B 8 


Z 2 





Making it a Jack, 



SWEEPSTAKE HEARTS. 



8 7 



No. 9. 

V 8 5 

* A 9 8 5 

K 9 7 

4 J 7 2 



<P 6 3 
* K J 3 2 
J 10 8 5 
*KQ 5 




J 10 9 7 
4k 7 6 

A 6 4 2 
A A 10 4 



AKQ42 

* Q 10 

Q 3 

♦ 9863 



Unless A can get a discard of Diamonds on a third round of 
Hearts, the chances are 5^ to 1 against his winning the 
pool. 

3d Trick. A must give up the attempt to control Spades. 

5th Trick. Observe Y's careful discard of the S 5. 

7th Trick. It is not B's game to lead H J and load Z 
further ; but rather to give Z every chance to unload on 
A and Y. 

10th Trick. Observe B's discard. If he throws the S 4 he 
cannot win another trick ; but Y's discard at trick 5 shows 
him that unless he can get into the lead on Spades, and load 
Y on Diamonds, his chances to get back his money by making 
jt a Jack are gone. 



88 FOSTER ON HEARTS. 

No. 10. 

SWEEPSTAKE HEARTS. 



No. OF 
Trick 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


Hearts 
Taken. 




CO K 
v o 


00 ft 

v o 


CO ft 

v o 


CO A 


z, 4 


2 


ro A. 


ro *y 
V 7 


no T7" 
V ^ 


v y 


B 4 


3 


* 7 


• Q 


• A 


* 9 




4 




* & 


* W 


• - 

* 3 




5 


ro Q 

vy o 


\JL\J 


v fat 


A ▲ 


B 3 


/z 
O 






OA 






7 


9* 




4* 


T A 




Q 
O 






CO T 

V o 


6^ 


A -r 
A I 


Q 

-7 




4^ 5 


A J 


ioO 




IO 


AO 


Q0 


K0 


90 




1 1 


50 


JO 


40 


70 




12 


30 


80 




60 




13 




* 4 


€§> TO 


«♦ 


B i 




A i 


Yo 


B 8 


z 4 





Y wins the pool. 



SWEEPSTAKE HEARTS. 



8 9 



No. 10. 



Z> 10 8 7 
* 8 6 5 4 

Q J 8 
$532 



^ 5 4 3 2 

4b K 7 2 

A 5 3 

4k 10 9 7 



A 



Z 



Y 



B 



<2 K Q J 6 

* A Q J 10 
K 4 2 

♦ Q 4 



V A 9 

* 9 3 

10 9 7 6 

4k A K J 8 6 



A's dangerous suit is Spades, and his best chance is to 
exhaust the Hearts at once. 

2d Trick. As there is evidently going to be a fight on the 
Hearts, Z is safe in leading the 9 before any discards take 
place. 

3d Trick. A holds up in Clubs, in order to lead Hearts 
again. 

8th Trick. Z sees that another lead of Spades must load A, 
unless he has both the remaining Hearts in his hand. 

10th Trick. B sees that Y, having neither Clubs nor Spades, 
must be loaded on Diamonds or nothing. 

1 2th Trick. If Y leads C 4, B must win it, but A would 
not give him the thirteenth Heart. A and B must each have 
a Diamond, and on the Club, A would discard, and on the 
return, Y would be loaded. So Y first exhausts the Diamonds 
and then leads the Club, winning the pool by the coup. 



90 FOSTER ON HEARTS. 

No. 11. 

HOWELL'S SETTLING. 



No. OF 
Trick 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


Hearts 
Taken. 


I 


10O 


JO 


90 


KO 




2 


70 


60 


80 


00 




3 


* 4 


4* 9 


* J 


4bA 




4 




* 8 


* 5 


AK 




5 


J* 




K* 


A» 




6 


5* 


7* 


Q4 


io^ 




7 


4* 




3^ 


24 




8 


5 


3 


^ 8 


0? 4 


b 4 


9 




V J 


<P 7 


50 


A3 


IO 


^ 9 


0? 2 




*Q 


B3 


1 1 


AO 


^10 


6 


94 


y 2 


12 


40 


* 3 






Z 1 




2O 


♦ 7 


30 


* 6 






A3 


Y 2 


B 7 


Z 1 





Z wins 9 ; Y wins 5 ; A wins 1 ; B loses 15. 



HOWELL'S SETTLING. 



9 I 



V J IO 3 2 

* 9 8 7 3 
No. 11. J 6 

4k 8 7 6 

C? A 9 5 I 7"~| K Q 8 7 6 

* 4 2 * J 5 

A 10 7 4 2 O983 

* J 5 4 1 z 1 4 K Q 3 

<2 4 

* A K Q 10 6 

K Q 5 

£ A 10 9 2 



A begins with the intermediate cards of his safe suit. 

8th Trick. Y is afraid to lead away from his Club tenace, 
because it might be at once led back to him. 

9th Trick. Z seizes this opportunity to get rid of the very 
dangerous D 5. If A does not play the H A now, it is quite 
possible that he will take every trick, except one in Diamonds. 

10th Trick. If A leads the D 2, and Hearts are led again, 
he must take all the remaining Hearts. By taking three at 
once he can escape the rest. B sees that if he passes this 
trick A will at once lead the D 2, and he will take all the 
remaining Hearts ; so he takes these three and throws the 
lead to Y, who has no chance to injure him. 

11th Trick. Z keeps two Clubs, hoping that if Y gets in 
and leads Clubs, B may discard a Diamond instead of a Heart, 
in which case Z would get clear. 



92 FOSTER ON HEARTS. 



No. 12. 

AUCTION HEARTS. 

A is the successful bidder, and names Hearts, 



No. OF 
Trick 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


Hearts 
Taken. 


I 


5 


8 


^ 6 




Z 4 


2 


QO 


40 


80 


AO 




3 


JO 


KQ 


70 


ioO 




4 




74 


6* 


IO^ 




5 




2 A 


9? 4 


9? 10 


Y 4 


6 




3* 








7 


^& 




V 3 


* 9 


Y 3 


8 


9 


* J 


♦ io 


±Q 


Z i 


9 


Q4 


4^ 6 


4# 


8£ 




IO 


J 4 


* 5 




2 A 




1 1 


60 


«S» 4 


50 


90 




12 


20 


* 3 




Jjb 8 




13 




& 2 


30 


* 7 


B i 




A o 


Y 7 


B i 


Z 5 





A wins the pool. 



AUCTION HEARTS. 



93 




No. 12. 

V Q 9 7 5 a 
dfc none 

Q J 6 2 
# A K Q J 

J io 
* Q 8 9 7 
A io 9 
4> io 9 8 2 

A, with his dangerous suit of Spades, clears up the Hearts 
at once. 

6th Trick. The second round of Spades betrays A's danger- 
ous suit to the other players. 

7th Trick. A must risk the King and 3 being divided, for if 
they are in one hand nothing will save him. Z keeps D 9 and 
C Q in order to be sure of getting a lead, as he is the only 
player who can load A by putting him in on Spades at the end. 
making him take in his own Hearts. 

8th Trick. B cannot risk playing the high Clubs while there 
is any chance for him to win the pool. He can count A to be 
safe in Diamonds, with two Hearts and two Spades. 

10th Trick. A clears his hand of the very dangerous Spade 
before leading his tenace in Diamonds. 

1 2th Trick. A will not give up the Heart until he is sure 
that B has not the Club 7. 



Wbist {Tactics. 



In this work the author has followed the same principles 
which made his manual so successful : first giving the examples 
with the cards, and then showing the principles underlying 
their management. The general management of the hand is 
gone into, and rules are given for the best course when the 
plain suits and the trumps are in certain proportions. 

J~*HE examples which the author 
tises throughout the work con- 
sist of H2 hands at Duplicate 
Whist, played by correspondence 
between 16 of the finest players in 
America, For every card played 
in this match, each of the players 
had a week to think over the situa- 
tion, and the result has been 112 
examples of the very best and most 
carefully studied zvhist ever played. 

The arrangement and presentation of the subject is quite 
original and entirely different from that pursued in any other 
work on whist, and the publishers are confident that it will be 
recognized as the most comprehensive work ever written on 
the game. 

The book is very handsomely printed. 

12mo, Holliston Cloth, Stamped with Title in Gold and a 
Hand of Cards in Silver and Red Ink, 
Gilt Edges, $1.25. 



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